July 07-13, 2014 1

Volume 3 l Issue No 27 l July 07-13, 2014 l Price: Rs 100An MMR, Braj Binani Group Publication

Taxes levied on steel,cement to fund low-cost housing

said Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

The account will collect taxes and other charges that are levied on building materials such as cement and steel in the housing industry. Naidu added that he still has to talk to the

“The government will open an escrow account to fund affordable housing in the country. The taxes levied by the state as well as the Centre will be collected in this account to generate revenue to construct affordable houses in the country,”

FDI in infra to act as push for economic growth

Centre announces `1 lakh cr fund for highways

Benefits of Sez, Nimz to industrial parks

T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o p p e r Association India’s (ICA) Managing Director, Sanjeev Ranjan, said that clear transparent policies and their implementation is a must, if any investment cycle is to be started in any segment.

Speaking about the Budget expectations, Ranjan said policies on FDI (foreign direct investment) in real estate, infrastructure, including the power sector initiatives to help restart stalled projects particularly in the power, coal, roads and railways would be of great help to the growth of economy.

T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o p p e r

T h e N a r e n d r a M o d i - l e d government will initiate measures to turn-around the highways sector in two years’ time by garnering funds to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore in a year. Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said, “I will prepare a blueprint for road sector reforms in a month. I will arrange funds to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore in a year. The results will be out in two years.”

His statement comes a day after the new government in a White Paper blamed the previous rulers’ policies such as awarding of projects without proper land acquisit ion for the

India has agreed to extend the benefits of special economic zones (Sezs) and National Investment & Manufacturing Zones (Nimz) to the proposed industrial parks which would be developed in collaboration with China. During the recent visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to Beijing, India and China signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the creation of industrial parks.

“The parties confirm that the cooperation on industrial parks shall enjoy the support that the Chinese government grants to overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, as well as the benefits not lower than that envisaged under the prevailing policy frameworks in India, such as Sez, Nimz, and existing policies of the state governments, as applicable,” stated the signed MoU.

The MoU would facilitate Chinese investments in India and would help

Association (ICA) India is a member of the Copper Alliance and the Indian arm of the International Copper Association Ltd, the not-for-profit organization for promotion of copper worldwide. The ICA India actively associates with the growing number of copper users in India.

“The biggest challenge the Finance Minister is set to face in his budget preparation would be how to balance growth versus inflation, and at the same time help in creating new jobs especially in the manufacturing sector,’’ said Ranjan. Currently, manufacturing contributes just 16 per cent to India’s GDP, which needs to be at least 25 per

poor performance of road sector wherein about 60 per cent of the NHAI’s schemes are embroiled in

in bridging the ballooning trade deficit, which now average around $35 bil l ion a year. The bilateral trade totaled $65.47 billion last year. Sezs and Nimzs enjoy tax related benefits.

The Sezs enjoy 100 per cent income tax exemption on export income for the first five years, 50 per cent for the next f ive years thereafter and 50 per cent of the ploughed back export profit for next five years.

B e s i d e s , N i m z , u n d e r t h e National Manufacturing Policy, has provisions of tax incentives to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Further, the MoU said that both the sides have agreed for an Industrial Park Cooperation Working Group, which will review the progress of the parks. The group will have equal number of representatives from both the countries. China is interested in setting up parks in states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka.

Finance Ministry about the proposal, and will request the government to set this money aside for the housing sector.

Naidu, who is also the housing and urban poverty alleviation minister, said that the tax revenue generated

through increased economic activity on account of the housing scheme will be channelled back into housing through this account. The money will then accrue to the states. He said the options being considered to address the urban housing shortage include interest subvention and public-private partnerships.

According to the Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry, the country has a shortage of 18.78 million (1.87 crore) houses in urban areas. It is estimated that the housing shortage is likely to go up to 30 million houses in urban areas by 2022.

Parvesh Minocha, Group Managing Director of consulting firm Feedback Infra, said,” To pick up two large commodities—cement and steel—and to also include the earnings by states sounds like a tall order. However, a lot of such mega steps have been taken

in the past. If it can be pulled off, it will be fantastic.”

Naidu, while commenting about the real estate regulatory Bill that was first mooted by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, said he was in talks with states and other stakeholders on it. “Online automated single-window approval (of housing projects) is also a demand by real estate developers,” he remarked.

The minister listed the steps he intends to take to improve urban governance. They included geographic info rmation systems (GIS)-based urban planning, making towns and cities slum- free, promoting cycling through dedicated cycling tracks, capacity building of municipalities, preparing master plans for all cities, solid waste management and citizens’ participation in managing public spaces.

controversies. Gadkari said the new government has understood the problems of the nation including impediments faced by the highways sector and was working hard to solve it. He said the contractors working in the highways sector will have their payments within a month.

cent if we are to address 12 million people joining the workforce.

Given the rising oil prices, poor monsoon and inflation (CPI) already nearing double digits, the challenges become even more test ing, he added. “We expect the government to announce fiscal incentives for new capex, where we can see encouraging participation from sovereign debt funds of countries like Japan, China, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia. This will do well to balance the shortfall in $1 trillion investment plan which the 12th Five-Year plan talks about for infrastructure development,’’ he said.

July 07-13, 2014 2budget

Industry captains outline their expectations from the new government on its maiden budget

announcement on July 10, 2014

Real Estate longs for transforming BudgetThe Union Budget 2014-15

will be the new government’s first budget. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won a historic mandate on the development agenda and is essentially free from coalition compulsions. Therefore, apart from the fiscal stance, the budget will also set the policy reform agenda for the next few years.

T h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t h a s announced a very clear mandate in terms of housing for all, and wil l therefore need to come up with a detailed affordable housing policy. Such a policy will have to focus on increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes in the budget bracket of Rs 20-25 lakh. The success of such a policy will depend

on respective state governments playing a proactive role, as well.

Idea l l y, a f fo rdab le hous ing projects should be al lowed on smaller land parcels so that such land under private holding can be monetized effectively. Alternately, the government can release land currently being held by it to developers for affordable housing projects at

“The real estate sector is standing at the cusp of development and the Union Budget 2014-15 can play a catalytic role in taking the sector to the next level. On the institutional front, giving ‘infrastructure’ status to housing will help real estate developers raise cheap funds from more credible sources and for longer durations thereby making homes more affordable.

We also expect that ECB limit which is currently pegged at $1 billion to be removed since the real estate industry requires funds in excess of $30 billion and this shortfall can be met using ECB.

“For the consumer, tax reliefs could usher in improved buyer sentiment. Income tax rebates on principal amount currently at Rs 1.5 lakh to be raised to Rs 10 lakh and that on the interest to be increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Currently there is a 1 percent interest subsidy for home loans applicable to first home buyers up to a limit of Rs 25 lakh; this should be revised to a more realistic figure of Rs 1 crore.”

Vineet Singh, EVP & Business Head, 99acres.com

“The NDA government is expected to provide a major boost to the real estate sector in coming months and this budget would be a testament to the claim. Although real estate is a state subject, there are certain areas where reforms initiated by the central government can improve market sentiment.

“Demand for real estate is primarily driven by employment generation and urban infrastructure development. Even though an increase in employment generation is a medium term goal, the silver lining resides in the urban infrastructure development that has been the focus of the current government.

“Over the last five years, a large number of important infrastructure projects have been stalled due to delays in approvals from different ministries of the central government. We expect that implementation of these projects will be fast tracked in coming months with a strong clarity in the budget with respect to processes and funds.”

dr Samantak das, Chief Economist & Director-Research, Knight Frank India

“Affordable housing policy in real estate is the need of the hour for the Indian real estate and the new government has a pivotal task in its hand to uplift the sector. Credai as a real estate body suggests to the Finance Minister to implement recommendations as follows.

Tax (direct and indirect) concessions for affordable housing projects; affordable housing should be treated as priority sector. Presently, interest rates charged by the banks to developers and home buyers are at an all-time peak and need to be brought down. The interest rate at least for home buyers must be brought down below 7 per cent.

“There is a dire need for an industry status for the realty sector. Once industry status is granted, funding for the real estate projects will become easier and at lower interest rate. Banks will not hesitate to lend to the realty sector and this will also lead to faster completion of projects thus reducing property prices.”

Lalit Kumar Jain, CMD, Kumar Urban Development Ltd & Chairman, Credai

“Considering the lower growth rate of the economy in the last few years, the forthcoming Union Budget is very critical and every industry sector is pinning hopes on it. Being a part of the real estate industry we hope that the new budget will bring in reforms and roll out more friendly

policies, some of these could be reforms for allocation of funds to developers at lower rates, incentivising developers who are adapting practises for sustainable developments etc.

“For an overall boost to the industry, the government should consider increasing the tax exemption limit for interest amount payable on home loans. Also introduction of single window clearance system and steps towards providing the infrastructure status to the industry will further benefit the sector.”

P Sahel, Vice Chairman, Lotus Greens Developers Pvt Ltd

“The Union Budget 2014-15 is expected to set a roadmap for the economy as a whole and the infrastructure sector in particular. The new government’s announcements about undertaking river-linking, creating high-speed train tracks, building low cost airports, expansion

of e-governance, etc. have generated a buzz in infrastructure circles“In the road sector, government needs to encourage innovative financing

mechanisms which can address the mismatch between loan tenure and concession period (the former being much shorter than the latter, thus leading to problems in servicing loans).

For BoT projects, the budget may propose a financing structure where the repayment schedule is such that 50 per cent of the total debt is repaid during the loan period and balance 50 per cent is to be repaid by way of bullet payment at the end of the tenure. With rising investments in infrastructure, the infrastructure & construction equipment (ICE) industry is also growing in India. The number of domestic ICE players has increased over the years and many foreign ICE players are also setting up manufacturing bases in India.”

Hemant Kanoria, CMD, Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd

“It would be interesting to note that the real estate sector today is no longer just a materialistic piece of existence, but is a piece of investment which resonates a sense of aspiration and security. This market has enormous potential and is developing at a rapid space across all verticals in real estate.

“With globalization at its peak and with new government at the Centre, clubbed with rapid space development in retail and commerce, real estate is bound to proliferate. Again,

with a behemoth growth in urban infrastructure and real estate, cities have also to overcome some stumbling blocks in their continuous growth.

“The hurdles such as labour shortage, implementation of land acquisition policy, ambiguity pertaining to land title, overlapping of laws, streamlining the process for approvals should be looked into. The scope of the interest rate subsidy for loans for affordable housing should be amplified and broadened to include a wider price band of homes to benefit buyers in the lower income group.”

Neeraj gulati, MD, Assotech Realty Pvt Ltd

“In order to promote growth, and the overall wellbeing of a country, government should maintain appropriate levels of productive investment in infrastructure while providing a level playing field for private investors and suppliers. Due to structural issues in the infrastructure sector, the earthmoving and construction industry is being adversely affected.

“Some of our budget recommendations to the new government are as follows: *On indirect taxation, reduce excise duty from 10 percent to 8 percent and bring it at

par with the automobile industry.*Combine central excise duty and service tax to facilitate introduction of goods and service tax (GST).*To revive business confidence, government should ease the process of land acquisition for big ticket projects, and

create special courts for speedy disposal of land acquisition cases.*In the mining sector, in order to boost competition and focus on efficiency, productivity and value reinstate the L1/

L2 tendering process for government business.”

Ajay Shankar, Country Manager, Caterpillar India

“The manufacturing sector needs to be strengthened to achieve 20-25 per cent growth in the cement industry over the next three decades. The cement industry is looking forward to some clear directions and decisions from the new government. There is no denying the fact that a lot of investment needs to be made in the infrastructure sector, and infrastructural revival cannot happen without cement.

“The single biggest expectation from the new government is the stability of the strong policy decisions duly aligned with the vision for the double digit GDP growth of the economy.

“Tax on cement in India is one of the highest in the world, even within the country it is higher than steel, resulting in one of the lowest per capita consumption of cement in the country. Tax on cement needs to be rationalized.”

dr Shailendra Chouksey, Wholetime Director, JK Lakshmi Cement

“Anticipating encouraging announcements in the forthcoming budget, the Indian real estate industry hopes that the new government will be able to re-establish the country as an economic force and boost consumer and investor confidence.

“We look forward to the announcement of progressive policies pertaining to FDI in real estate, since the sector is in marked need of a more liberalized funding flow. Global investors are once again enthusiastically eyeing the Indian market for the immense opportunities it

offers. There is now a very real possibility of a huge increase in foreign investment inflows, and the budget is definitely the ideal opportunity for taking serious steps to encourage this.

“The real estate industry once again reiterates its sincere call for preferential industry status. Despite many petitions to the government to this effect, real estate was not been granted this status even though its role as a significant growth driver for the economy is beyond dispute.”

Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India

nominal rates. The success of such a policy will depend on respective state governments playing a proactive role, as well.

Also, for affordable housing projects, density and FAR norms can be increased to enable mass housing at lower costs. Developers of affordable housing can also be incentivized in various ways, such as

allowing them a certain commercial component within these projects which they can sell at market rates.

The Indian real estate sector also looks forward to a budget that outlines measures to tackle inflation without stifling overall growth. Interest rates must rationalize and home sales pick up once more.

July 07-13, 2014 3IN PeRSON

‘Affordable housing is where the greatest demand lies’

budget is still very much a possibility increasingly being patronized by not only lower-to-mid income home seekers but also by young, well-paid buyers who could have afforded larger and more centrally located homes. There are valid reasons behind this affordable trend.

The reception of entry-level housing projects in Pune always generates a lot of interest from end-users and investors. The affordable housing proposition is especially attractive for first-time home buyers, since they benefit from a tax deduction of one lakh rupees on the rate of interest paid for housing loans up to Rs 25 lakh, provided the value of the flat does not exceed Rs 40 lakh.

Investors are not only attracted by the low price tags of these projects but they also see that rapid connectivity enhancements and improving social and civic infrastructure at these locations, as well as the fact that

FSI norms and the new improved conditions we will be able to do 2,000 houses in each of these. Anand Gram is into the bracket of Rs 5-15 lakh.

Typically a small one-room kitchen is 450 sq ft, one BHK around 650 sq ft, two BHK for the income bracket of people earning between Rs 8,000 to Rs 25,000 focused on giving a good standard of living and good housing formats for Anand Grams.

In Anand Gram typical ly the neighborhood is quite decent, also structurally it is quite open and has space for good ventilation. The ventilation and planning is such that you do not have to switch on lights and fans all the time of the day. Nothing is clustered.

Talking about escalation of the project cost, Nitin Kulkarni partially agrees that if a builder has to run the project for three to five years, there is bound to be cost escalation. If you promise a project delivery in 2011 and hand it over the same year, then cost escalation doesn’t affect.

We are the ones who work on the cost factors in a big way. Escalation has not affected our projects in any way. We are focusing on good planning and on homes which have a good sewage treatment plant. Every Anand Gram has a water treatment plant, and concrete roads with a lifespan of 10-15 years.

Nitin Kulkarni, Director, Vastushodh Projects Pvt Ltd, Pune, charts out his success story of Anand Gram and Urban Gram which today are known as unique concepts of micro-housing township properties, in this interview with Remona Divekar. Excerpts:

It is no secret that 2013 was not a very good one for the Indian real estate sector. The economic slowdown, coupled with political uncertainty, led to a downward trend on the property market.

On the residential property front, high property prices and home loan interest rates kept a large number of buyers waiting on the sidelines across most Indian markets. However, despite the overall slowdown in the sector, the property market in Pune maintained steady momentum that tends to define all stable real estate markets.

At this point in 2014, anticipation rides high on the outcome of the general elections. Considering the current political scenario in the country, the arrival of a new government could spell a positive change in the economic scenario.

Any significant rectification of the status quo would help in stabilizing the stock market, which in turn has relevance to the growth parameters of real estate development. Meanwhile, Pune’s real estate market is showing healthy growth across most asset segments.

Pune’s mid and luxury residential property segment has gained a significant traction over the past two quarters, resulting in a very healthy rate of inquiries translating into sales. The city’s developers are understandably upbeat about the response that ultra-luxury housing continues to evoke in Pune, and are launching projects with the motto that luxury knows no recession. Luxury housing in Pune is, in fact, now defined by a whole new dimension when it comes to amenities and conveniences.

In industry terms, super-premium housing in a city like Pune is defined by projects which have unit sizes of 3,500 sq ft and above, complemented with addresses that convey status and prestige, carrying price tags of Rs 12,000 per sq ft and above.

Driven by passion and armed with sound technical knowledge, we’re treading our path to growth through understanding of our customers, by translating their needs for today and tomorrow into quality homes. A young, dynamic company, Vastushodh is concentrating on developing a wide range of properties – eco-housing to premium residential properties at well-connected locations in and around Pune.

Mid-income housing The luxury homes segment has

been burgeoning on Pune’s real estate market, with many large players entering with projects. The affordable housing segment is obviously where the greatest demand lies.

Vas tushodh , a 14 -yea r-o ld company, was founded in 2000 by its partner Sachin Kulkarni who was initially focused on row houses, twin houses, and bungalows mainly in the upcoming areas of Pune.

In 2010 the company shifted its focus on affordable housing, considering the needs of a common working man. The company before starting this ambitious project had not undertaken any such construction activity in the past.

Nitin Kulkarni says, “We did our first project Anand Gram at Yavat which is on Pune-Solapur highway. We launched it in 2010 and it started a revolution for the company. At that point of time we offered units between Rs 3 and Rs 7 lakh. The project was spread over 10 acres and had 625 apartments. And the ticket sizes were between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 7.2 lakh.

“It created quite a buzz and the campaign never spoke on the prices but it spoke about the aspirations of the new buyer. We received very good response and we sold about 450 apartments at the launch. We had done around 10,000 to 20,000 to 40,000 sq ft of projects in the past, so the most important thing was delivering 2.5 lakh sq ft at a remote location at Yavat which was about 40-45 km away from Pune.

“It was the biggest selling point which was done very efficiently. We delivered 17 buildings in 14 months. All these are G+3 buildings, amenities were quite simple but the specifications were good. It was a dream turned into reality when we delivered the first 500 houses to buyers that too in the first 14 months.”

Such are affordable housing projects providing basic, no-frills amenities. Over the past couple of years, Pune has recorded a certain amount of growth in this segment. Interestingly, while there has been compelling growth in the high-end

segment with luxurious 3-4 BHK homes, the budget housing story is far more attractive to investors.

A dream-come-true Pune’s real estate landscape is

expanding constantly, and prices of land on the outskirts are still low. This gives developers a chance to offer affordable 1 and 2 BHK units price-tagged between Rs 10–22 lakh. These affordable housing projects are spread across different sectors of Pune. The emergence of new townships proves excellent investment opportunities, as prices in such projects are set to soar in the near future.

Anand Gram is an ideal example of affordable homes where after initial apprehensions by the industry, quality flats were sold between Rs 3-7 lakh that too with authorized Crisil 5- star ratings. Crisil ratings were given after studying technical, legal and commercial aspects of the project.

A s P u n e h a s m a n y m a j o r manufacturing industries situated on the outskirts of the city, the demand for affordable residential housing is scaling up among blue collar buyers. Factors such as constantly improving connectivity and the increasing availability of social infrastructures like hospitals and schools are primary drivers of investment potential for these projects.

Since the ticket size was Rs 3-7 lakh a lot of people from unorganized businesses came to buy houses. We had anticipated this to happen and we had a tie-up with many NHFC that is micro housing finance corporation.

Anand Gram initially was just a project name later on it became a brand name. Buying a flat within a limited

Concrete solution to Pune’s need

There is a need for over 6 lakh homes in Pune. All developers put together are just doing 12,000 to 15,000 homes. If we have to cater to 6 lakh homes we need nearly 500 builders like me to fulfill their needs.

Not a single developer wants to do projects like Anand Gram. There are many who do one or two projects, but there is a necessity where someone has to do it, lead it and government has to support it.

Everyone runs after premium housing and when recessionary trend comes then it is a cause for worry to them. In Pune even if new developers enter the market every day, everyone can easily survive well.

We do not want to get into premium housing; we want to construct more homes like Anand Gram and Urban Gram to serve people between Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000 monthly income, and yet, we have given the common man an experience of a mall.

Anand Gram is the concrete solution to the city’s need for affordable housing. With this unique concept we help provide an effective yet affordable option to those who wish to live in better conditions, slightly away from crowded, uncomfortable and expensive localities of the city with good connectivity.

We provide well-to-do and modern specifications and amenities, benefits of cost-effectiveness, community l i v i ng , secu r i t y and amb ien t surroundings. Thus, Anand Gram fulfills the need of those aspiring residents who dream of having a home of their own, and most of all a decent contemporary lifestyle.

many of these projects are by reliable, market-proven developers, translate into significantly faster and higher RoI than mid-income and luxury housing.

Well thought out concept Much has been said about the

imbalanced residential supply in Pune. Premium or luxury housing projects seem to be given more importance by developers than budget homes or affordable housing, where the greatest need lies.

Pune is a growing city, and there is a considerable annual influx of new manpower from other cities. This is perennially pushing up the demand for lower-cost housing by people who are just beginning their careers or are in lower-paid jobs but still aspire towards home ownership.

Anand Gram with a unique concept of a micro township are our on-going success stories. Anand Gram and Urban Gram invested in only land and sanctions. Later on it becomes a self-sustaining model; the projects are done and constructed fast.

We have delivered two Anand Grams, one in Yavat and other is in Talegaon. The Wakre one is in very advanced stages of construction. Two to three months down the line it will be ready. There are five Anand Grams already rolled out in various stages of construction and being handed

We have two major Anand Grams lined up, documentation and sanctions are in place and waiting for environment clearance. Both these are much bigger in scale in whatever Anand Grams we have tapped.

One is in Boiser and the other is in Bhandgaon which is again on Pune-Solapur highway. Both are around 20-21 acres of land. With the new

Anand Gram Talegaon Dhamdhere

Anand Gram Yavat Urban Gram Kirkitwadi

July 07-13, 2014 4INFRAStRuCtuRe

Singapore to assist India build smart cities

Singapore has o f fe red fu l l assistance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfill his dream of building smart cities in India. In what was a first visit by a foreign minister of a South-East Asian country since the Modi government took charge, Singapore’s K Shanmugam met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and NSA Ajit Doval to pitch for greater Indian presence in the region.

Singapore is also keen to expand defence cooperation with India and would await relaxation of FDI norms in the upcoming budget. Its defence minister is visiting Delhi in August. Both countries hold annual defence exercises while Singapore also exports arms to India. Singapore is the largest source of FDI to India. Similarly, Indian firms use Singapore

as a base to expand their business in South-East Asia.

Not many are aware that Modi had led a business delegation to Singapore in 2006. And in 2014,

Singapore is a partner country for the Vibrant Gujarat convention. India and Singapore signed the CECA in 2005 but there are pending issues to be addressed under that agreement.

France to give 1b euro for sustainable projects

France has proposed to give India 1 billion euro ($1.4 billion) credit line to fund sustainable infrastructure and urban development projects, said Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The credit line would be available over three years and delivered through the French Development Agency, Fabius.

India, which has said it needs $1 trillion of investment by 2017 to upgrade its creaking infrastructure, is keen to attract foreign development agencies and companies to help finance new roads, railways and cities.

Fabius is the first of a string of Western politicians due to visit India over the next few weeks for talks with Modi and his government, drawn in part by the prospect of lucrative defence deals that stalled under the last administration. Fabius called on

Modi, ahead of his visit to India’s finance capital Mumbai and invited him to France.

During the meeting, Modi sought French involvement in areas including low-cost defence manufacturing.

Some countries find extending a credit line or investing through development arms a useful way to boost ties with India and also gain an early link to the South Asian nation’s future infrastructure schemes.

The Road Transport & Highways Ministry is considering an option to make use of concrete cement mandatory as a part of the bid for fully government-funded projects as well as public-private partnership projects.

The ministry discussed the issue at some recent meetings. Roads & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had stated his preference for concrete cement roads as opposed to bitumen. The ministry is also considering entering into rate contracts with companies to buy concrete and cement so that builders and contractors can acquire the material at cheaper rates.

“For government-funded contracts, we have already started evaluating cost options for various projects to use

Cement, preferred choice of Road Ministry

concrete cement where there is a lower lifecycle cost,” said a source.

In a rate contract, the price of a material is finalized in advance by the procurement agency and vendors. As and when the procurement agency or its arms require the product, the vendor supplies it at the agreed rate. This also involves commitment on volumes.

Procurement of large volumes for national highway projects raises the possibility of discounts. Usually, concrete cement roads cost less than bitumen surfaces on a lifecycle basis (over a 20-year period). Though the initial outlay on concrete roads is higher, maintenance costs are less, said a government official.

Depending on various factors, including the location of the road, the initial cost of building a concrete road could be higher by 5-30 per cent. Despite lower lifecycle costs, private developers managing long-term (20-30 years) projects have so far avoided building concrete cement roads.

The exceptions include those who won the rights to make six-lane roads out of four-lane ones built with concrete cement. About 3,500 km of highways, some of which have been funded by the World Bank, have been constructed using concrete cement. Another option is to mandate the use of cement only for government-funded roads, said an official.

Single window clearance likely for real estate

The Telangana government is considering coming out with norms for a single window clearance system for real estate and other construction projects aiming at streamlining the functioning and cutting short project-implementation time.

The state minister for IT and Panchayat Raj, KT Rama Rao, has said that the government was in favour of coming out with a policy that helps developers implement projects faster with early clearance from the government.

Speaking at a real estate event Gruhapravesham, the minister wanted the industry players, including real estate sector companies to come up

with suggestions to expedite project implementation. Inaugurating the first property show after bifurcation of the state, he said his government is committed to facilitating growth of the sector and wanted suggestions which the government will consider.

C Shekar Reddy, Credai National President, said, “Hyderabad is a g loba l c i ty w i th unmatched infrastructure, climate, culture and availability of skilled manpower. The government will announce a new industrial policy with a package of incentives to boost industrial growth in Telangana, which wil l make Hyderabad a destination for investments.”

Lavasa files IPO papers to raise `750 cr

Cons t ruc t ion ma jo r HCC’s realty arm Lavasa Corporation filed documents with market regulator Sebi for launching an initial public offer (IPO) to raise Rs 750 crore. Lavasa Corporation, which is developing a large township (hill city) in 10,000 hectares in Lavasa near Pune, is making a second attempt to raise money through IPO.

In November 2010, Lavasa Corporation had got the Sebi clearance for an IPO to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore, but bad market conditions forced the company to scrap the plan. Lavasa Corporation has filed its draft red-herring prospectus with Sebi to go in for an initial public offering of its equity

shares of Rs 10 each aggregating to Rs 750 crore, said Hindustan Construction Company.

“Lavasa is finally back on track after almost three years of delays on account of government interventions. The project will need additional funding,” said its Chairman & Managing Director Ajit Gulabchand.

While the first phase of Lavasa is near complete, the proposed commercial business park, in the second phase, is likely to be completed by October 2015. So far, the company has handed over more than 600 residential units to city management service department and over 500 units to customers.

India to have world’s tallest girder rail bridge

in North-East

The much-delayed railway link to Manipur’s capital Imphal is set to get the world’s tallest girder rail bridge on the 125-km-long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal route. First included in the 2003-2004 Central budget, the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal project has seen many delays, and construction is not even one-third the way through, but the Railways says it has so far completed seven of the 46 tunnels on the project, with the NF Railways saying it will complete five more in the current year.

“Last week we completed tunnel no 14 that passes under the Silchar-Imphal National Highway-37, with which we have so far completed 19.5 km of the 39.4 km of total tunnel length that the Jiribam-Imphal track will have. The longest tunnel on this route will be 10.7 km in length.

“But the biggest feat the Railways

has been working on is bridge no 164 which will have a proposed pier height of 141 mt and would make it the tallest girder rail bridge in the world. At present, the Malarijeka via-duct in Montenegro, Europe, with a height of 139 metre, is the highest such rail bridge, said the official.

Declared as a National Project in 2012, the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal project has already missed two deadlines, with the revised target for completion now fixed at 2022. “We however want to complete the Jiribam-Tupul 84-km section by March 2016 in the first phase. This portion will require 1,310 hectares of land out of which work is in progress on 1,263 hectares. There will be 112 minor bridges and six major bridges, out of which 52 minor bridges have been already completed,” said the NF Railway official.

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July 07-13, 2014 6PROJeCtS uPdAte

Railways to carry out 2,000-km track electrification

Adani Ports eyes port buyout on the south-east coast

Acting on the recommendations of the Rakesh Mohan panel on the transport sector, the Railways is likely to carry out electrification of around 2,000 km of its tracks this fiscal. Most of this will be done on the never-tried-before annuity model. An announcement is likely to be expected in the rail budget on July 8.

At present, the railways has almost 38 per cent (24,800 km) of its network electrified that carries almost 67 per cent of the freight traffic and 51 per cent of the passenger traffic. The power bill of the railways at present is Rs 10,880 crore whereas its diesel bill

Adani Ports & Sez, India’s largest port operator, is seeking further acquisitions after taking over Dhamra Port on the east coast recently. It’s looking to buy a port on the southeast coast to strengthen its presence across the country, said a source familiar with the matter.

It is also in talks with several international port operators to sell a significant stake in its Hazira operations in Gujarat to free up cash and get assured shipping lines that will come with such partnerships.

“Adani is rationalizing its port assets in India. They will use money from Hazira to buy something in the south,” said the source. With a strong presence on the west coast with flagship Mundra Port and on the east coast with the Rs 5,500 crore Dhamra Port, the company wants to

is around Rs 22,000 crore. This shows how important is faster electrification in reducing the national transporter’s expenses on energy and also cutting the country’s oil import bill. The cost of electrification is around Rs 1.5 crore per kilometer.

The Rakesh Mohan committee had suggested that the Railways take up electrification on a priority basis and said it should be seen as a means of cutting use of fossil fuel energy for rail transport.

“Route electrification could be the most successful of the public-private partnership (PPP) projects

extend its reach further south. It is more likely to buy an asset in Andhra Pradesh as its presence in Tamil Nadu is ensured after it won the bid to build a container terminal in Ennore this year. In Andhra Pradesh, Adani has a small coal-handling operation at Vizag. The company declined to comment on the story.

The ports at Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram and Machilipatnam are likely targets in Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, Karaikal Port could be a target.

The slowdown hit ports that spent thousands of crores of rupees during the boom on developing east coast facilities. Today they are staring at unmet revenue targets, anaemic cargo growth and balance sheets weighed down by debt.

The enterprise value of these ports

being undertaken by the Railways. At present, running on diesel is more than two times costlier than the electr ic route. So whatever the Railways save on the fuel can be paid to contractors annually. We understand that such projects have good traction and returns on investments are faster which will interest foreign technology giants,” said a railway board official.

The Railways is expecting private companies such as Alstom, Siemens, KEC and its own PSUs such as Ircon and Rites to invest in the electrification projects.

Oz keen to explore India’s infra in partnership

Australia wants to explore new operation fields in various sectors of infrastructure in partnership with India, said a top Australian official. “We (Australia) are developing economic relations with India with strategic moves. In partnership, we want to explore new fields of operation in various sectors of infrastructure,” said Australian Consul General to India Mark Pierce.

Pierce, along with Australia’s Trade Commissioner for Northern India Grayson Perry and a representative of Japan’s trade body Yasuhide Yamada,

were in India to take part in a day-long international seminar on ‘public-private partnership’ (PPP) model and infrastructure projects.

The speakers, on the occasion shared Australis’a experience in f inancing and development of infrastructure projects, a representative from Japan shared their experience in deve lop ing and manag ing infrastructure in India. “Australia has a significant expertise in development of infrastructure major projects through the PPP model,” said Trade Commissioner Grayson Perry.

The Japanese representative said that Japan, with Australia’s help, has also offered the best PPP model to develop infrastructure in India. “Australia, in partnership with Japan, can offer India a significant expertise in infrastructure PPP. Japan’s official development assistance programme has proven to be vital for the growth of Indian infrastructure in landmark projects such as the Delhi Metro rail, Mumbai-Delhi Freight Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor,” said Japan External Trade Organization’s Director Yasuhide Yamada.

‘Will clear `35k cr more road projects

in 8-10 days’: Gadkari

India seeks Japan investment to build smart

cities, bullet trains

India Cements to invest Rs 75 cr in TN facility

After having recently cleared stalled highway projects worth Rs 40,000 crore, the government is now set to sort out issues relating to pending schemes involving an expenditure of Rs 35,000 crore over the next 8-10 days, said Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

“I have already cleared projects worth Rs 40,000 crore of the Rs 75,000 crore stalled projects. I will sort out the issues involving the remaining ones in the next 8-10 days,” said

India has sought Japanese investment to develop 100 smart cities and high-speed bullet trains to improve infrastructure and create jobs. “Japan is a natural partner of India. Japan is best in developing smart cities, development of high-speed t ra ins. . . in the next f ive years, we need 10,000 Japanese companies. We will hand-hold them,” said Amitabh Kant, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, at a Ficci function.

Kant said Japan has already formed a partnership with India for the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project, a 1,483 kilometre dedicated freight corridor. He said about 1,000 Japanese companies currently have a presence in India.

In its election manifesto, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said it would initiate the building of 100

India Cements plans to invest around Rs 75 crore in its Shankar Nagar facility in Tamil Nadu, mainly to improve product quality and energy efficiency measures, according to company sources. The company would start associated works once it receives environment clearance, and it could take 15 months to complete them.

Gadkari, Minister of Road, Transport & Highways, while addressing a function to commemorate the 142nd Foundation Day of the Mumbai Port Trust.

Gadkari said some 265 road and national highway projects worth Rs 75,000 crore were stalled due to reasons ranging from land acquisition to environment clearance and had turned into Non-performing Assets, with several companies executing those going for Corporate Debt Restructuring.

new cities, enabled with the latest in technology and infrastructure. India has proposed to build smart cities under the DMIC project. They will have self-sustainable habitats with minimal pollution levels, maximum recycling, optimized energy supplies and efficient public transportation.

“Rapid urbanization is happening in India. About 750 million people would get into the urbanization process in the next one decade and in all these things, Japan will be a natural partner,” he added. He said Japan would become a key player in the development of Indian economy. “Today, there is an opportunity to work with Japan. We look forward to work with Japan,” he said.

India received $16.26 billion worth of foreign direct investment from Japan between April 2000 and April 2014.

The works include replacing old cement mills to improve quality o f cement and reduce power consumption. As against a capacity of 1.3 million tons per annum (mtpa) in 1989, over the past two decades it expanded its total capacity to 15.5 mtpa.

It has seven integrated cement plants located in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; one in Rajasthan (through its subsidiary Trinetra Cement Ltd with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa) and two grinding units each in TN and Maharashtra.

Its overall plant capacity utilization stood at around 70 per cent. India Cements Vice Chairman & Managing Director N Srinivasan said the Centre should accord top priority to infrastructure development and ensure the completion of pending projects.

is in the range of Rs 3,000-5,000 crore, according to industry sources. However, with more supply than demand in the region, sellers are at a disadvantage. “There are many good assets on the block on the south-east coast. Adanis are driving a hard bargain and are looking to buy something cost-to-cost.”

July 07-13, 2014 7teCHNOLOgY

Bentley Advantage seminar on innovative software

The Bentley Advantage seminar, which was recently held in Mumbai, provided compelling insights on the future of Bentley Systems’ innovative software and services for sustaining infrastructure.

I t featured presentat ions by Bentley executives on the latest technologies enabling information mobility across multiple disciplines and infrastructure design, build, and operations lifecycle. The ultimate goal of the sessions was to help Bentley users maximize the return on their software investments as they improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their projects and/or infrastructure operations.

Malcolm Walter, Bentley’s Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, delivered the corporate keynote presentation to around 260 delegates who were in attendance at this event. The keynote presentation highlighted the following topics.

Bentley’s BIM Advancement: In November 2013, during its annual Year in Infrastructure conference for the world’s leading executives in infrastructure design, construction, and operations, Bentley introduced a new way of looking at BIM, as it advances beyond 3D design and visualization.

As explained during the Bentley A d v a n t a g e s e m i n a r, t h e t w o directions of this BIM advantage together achieve better-performing assets through increased depth of information mobility and better-performing projects through increased breadth of information mobility. This next stage of the collaborative BIM advancement has been referred to as BIM Level 2 by the British government

in its mandate to extend BIM benefits into construction.

Level 2 Optioneering contributes to better asset performance by enabling infrastructure professionals to explore alternatives, including across disciplines, to an extent that would not be feasible without new simulation and analytical software and computational resources. Level 2 Project Delivery improves project performance, beyond design, through construction, for collaborative consideration of cost, schedule, and risk.

On the horizon is BIM Level 3, which extends the lifecycle of BIM into the operations of the completed asset. In this phase, information mobility makes design data and as-constructed models available for operations and maintenance, while ‘big data’ from sensors and operating metrics contribute to the creation of a rich, ‘immersive’ information model of the built asset to improve infrastructure performance, safety, and sustainability.

Information mobility: Bentley’s enablers of information mobility include i-models, eB Information Manager, and Bentley Connect. i-models, which became mobile in 2013 for use in field apps, convey AECO deliverables across the infrastructure lifecycle and enable information to be shared among Bentley’s three platforms: MicroStation, ProjectWise, and AssetWise.

i-models provide provenance – knowledge of its origin and evolution, essentially its change history – and support the most popular industry applications and standards.

eB Information Manager underlies both ProjectWise and AssetWise, and

maintains the relationships and the changes within information elements throughout the project and asset lifecycles.

Bentley connect lets Bentley users connect through cloud services to improve information mobil i ty even beyond firewalls. Bentley is implementing Bent ley Connect through the Microsoft Cloud service to enable its users to augment and improve the technology they are already employing, which in many cases is Windows based. As a result, Bentley Connect extends information mobility without requiring users to start over from a technology standpoint.

In addition to these enablers of information mobility, Bentley also offers mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, and Android devices. This advancement allows users to seamlessly continue workflows while in the field or on the

go. Among the apps are Bentley Map Mobile, Field Supervisor, InspectTech Collector Mobile, Navigator Mobile, and ProjectWise Explorer Mobile.

MANAGEservices: Through its new MANAGEservices, Bentley can provision, manage, monitor, and support its industry-leading software solutions for architecture, engineering, and construction wherever and whenever users need them – through cloud services operating in a hybrid environment.

Bent ley ’s MANAGEserv ices helps architecture, engineering, and construction firms, along with owner-operators, get the most business value out of their software investments. Leveraging Bentley’s vast experience in infrastructure engineering and knowledge of business process disciplines, users achieve the highest standards in project execution and/or asset management, reducing the

need for in-house provisioning and management of IT resources.

B e n t l e y M A N A G E s e r v i c e s supports a range of subscriptions and transaction-based fees without any upfront capital investments. Bentley provides predictability in managing costs, allowing users to pay only for value delivered.

Bentley’s solutions: Industry-focused parallel sessions were organized in the afternoon to showcase Bentley’s solutions for Oil & Gas, EPCs and Offshore, Architecture and Engineering Consultants, and Utilities & Water-wastewater industries, and to share global best practices from international projects which have innovatively used Bentley solutions.

Five user presenters shared their experiences of working with Bentley solutions on their Indian projects. During the event, as many as 18 local users were also recognized for their 2013 ‘Be Inspired’ project submissions.

Bentley Systems is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure.

Bentley users leverage information mobil ity across disciplines and throughout the infrastructure lifecycle to deliver better-performing projects and assets. Bent ley solut ions encompass MicroStation applications for information modeling, ProjectWise collaboration services to deliver integrated projects, and AssetWise operations services to achieve intelligent infrastructure – complemented by worldwide professional services and comprehensive managed services.

Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 3,000 colleagues in over 50 countries, more than $600 million in annual revenues, and since 2006 has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

Bentley’s new Subsurface Utility Engineering breakthrough technology

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, one of the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, today announced the availability of Bent ley’s Subsurface Uti l i ty Engineering (SUE).

This breakthrough technology for the integrated engineer ing management of underground utility networks for water, storm water, gas, and electric services is built on OpenRoads, Bentley’s collaborative BIM advancement for multi-discipline civil engineering projects. Bentley’s SUE brings together data from multiple sources and geo-coordinates it for 3D modeling, interactive inspection, and utility conflict detection and clash resolution.

By providing a framework of powerful software tools and rich content to quick ly and eas i ly generate high-fidelity, intelligent 3D

feature-based models of the buried construction zone, SUE mitigates the risks of building in utility-congested, ‘call-before-you-dig’ underground environments. These risks can range from project delays to damaged subsurface utilities to explosions that threaten below- and above-ground infrastructure as well as human life.

Commenting on the new offering, Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley said, “In cities around the world, the area that I believe poses the biggest risk to those designing, building, and operating infrastructure is found by looking down.

“It’s also the area for which it seems there’s been the least advancement of information modeling and information mobility to improve construction throughput and enhance the reliability, safety, and resilience of infrastructure assets.

“And for Bentley Systems, with

our portfolio spanning building, civil, geospatial, and plant domains, it’s a particular priority – as all infrastructure projects are impacted by subsurface cond i t i ons , r es t r i c t i ons , and requirements.”

He continued, “Our Subsurface Utility Engineering software uniquely provides across disciplines a powerful new information modeling application. Its use will empower project teams to comprehensively understand, and more effectively and efficiently resolve, underground infrastructure conflicts.”

SUE automatically creates 3D models from survey information, CAD data, GIS, Excel spreadsheets, Oracle databases, and other industry standard sources of information. In addition, it maintains a relationship between CAD and GIS utility sources and tracks civil features to ensure that data is always synchronized and up to date.

Using the visualization and clash detection capabilities of SUE, users can readily identify and resolve conflicts between new construction features and existing utilities during the design phase. This helps mitigate risk during construction, lowers costs, and sustains asset performance.

SUE further enables immersive modeling by empowering users to combine active plan, profile, and cross-section views with innovative 3D modeling technology, providing addit ional context for decision making. SUE’s additional provision of parametric design features includes fully dynamic rules, relationships, and constraints built into the modeling workflow.

The net result of these advancements is improved design quality with unique ‘optioneering’ capabilities that allow users to readily create and compare design alternatives. Moreover, the

intelligent 3D modeling capabilities del iver against the US Federal Highway Administration’s ‘MAP-21’ recommendations for 3D modeling/virtual construction and visualization technology.

SUE also conforms to essential elements of the Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data (38-02) that govern subsurface utility information quality.

This standard assists engineers, project and uti l i ty owners, and constructors in developing strategies to reduce risk by improving the reliability of information on existing subsurface utilities in a defined manner.

SUE provides indispensable insight for contractors employing alternative delivery approaches such as design-build, and taking on the risks associated with identifying and resolving subsurface utility conflicts.

M o s t s i g n i f i c a n t l y, t h o s e substantially benefitting from SUE’s powerful capabilities include cities and other owners of infrastructure – and all whose quality of life is sustained by underground utilities.

OpenRoads, Bentley’s collaborative BIM advancement for multi-discipline civil engineering projects, is the successor to Bentley’s InRoads, Geopak, and MX offerings. OpenRoads continues to advance what’s possible in road design, construction, and operations.

Its industry-leading innovations empower users to achieve BIM Level 2 through immersive modeling, design-time visualization, design intent capture and persistence, hypermodeling, construction-driven engineering, and information mobility across engineering disciplines and the infrastructure lifecycle.

July 07-13, 2014 8CemeNt

Infrastructure and housing will be essential

building blocks for modern India, and

high-quality cement and concrete at cost-effective prices will be prerequisites for both

sectors(Concluding Part 5)

V IS ION 2025

A promising future for cement industry

T h e c e m e n t i n d u s t r y h a s undergone a remarkable growth trajectory over the past couple of decades, and is expected to transform itself again over the next decade. Production is l ikely to increase by more than 2.5 times, requiring significant investments in capacity and capability. Moreover, changes in end-usage segments will require several adaptations to cement companies’ operating and business models.

With adequate government support and proactive industry measures, the industry has the potential to play an instrumental role in building a modern India and could become globally admired for best-in-class efficiency, technology, and processes.

Keeping these possibilities in mind—along with the challenges that need to be overcome along the way—a long-term vision, built on three pillars, can be considered. (Figure 1).

Building modern India Infrastructure and housing will be

essential building blocks for modern India, and high-quality cement and concrete at cost-effective prices will be prerequisites for both sectors, requir ing the industry to bui ld adequate supply capacity to meet the demand.

To ensure the viability of added capacity, cont inuous efforts to improve cost efficiencies will be crucial. In addition, advancements in product offerings (value-added products), the distribution model (bulk delivery), and structural design and specifications can help promote best-in-class construction practices.

The industry can be a role model for other process and manufacturing industr ies by developing best practices while using state-of-the-art technology for cement production and its application. Secure long-term energy requirements in a cost-effective, sustainable manner, and emerge as a world leader in sustainability.

The projected long-term growth in cement production will result in a corresponding increase in thermal and electrical energy requirements for the sector. The supply of coal, the preferred source for thermal and electrical energy, is already bottle¬necked.

In addition, the impact of efficiency improvements is slowly plateauing. It will be to the industry’s advantage to work creatively to further improve energy efficiency, while increasing adoption of alternative sources of energy.

Investments in building strong local R&D capabilities will be needed to keep up with—if not ahead of—global advancements in technology while using the industry’s increasing scale to push efficiency to the next level.

Admired industry The cement industry has directly

contributed to the nation with taxes and jobs. Indirectly, it has contributed

by developing communities in several remote areas, acting as a sustainable outlet for hazardous waste material, and taking big strides to improve safety standards for its workers.

The industry wi l l benef i t by becoming more appea l ing to employees and to communities. A continued focus on the well-being of other key stakeholders—by becoming an end-to-end solution provider for customers and offering good long-term returns for shareholders—will also need to be maintained. These pillars of the vision for 2025 will be founded on seven objectives (Figure 2). Success will depend on effective collaboration between industry and government.

Industry imperatives Achieving the vision for 2025 will

require the industry to take on seven objectives:

1: Ensure viability of new capacity addition

Improve operating cost structure. Increase industry eff iciency by developing innovative manufacturing processes and technology and bringing down operating costs. Some ways in which this could be done include the following:

Maximize use of blending material and share of blended cement. Improve cost efficiency by increasing the use of fly ash and selling more blended cement by offering institutional buyers a strong integrated proposition.

Create awareness about benefits of blended cement that is made in a controlled environment with good-quality ash in adherence with the BIS, resulting in a more reliable final product.

Develop and promote use of performance-based blended cement, which is

infrastructure. Purchase private rakes and special-purpose wagons. Optimally design the manufacturing asset footprint to optimize the overall logistics and production cost. Increase the use of inland waterways as an alternative to rail and road wherever feasible.

Secure long-term supply of key input raw materials (limestone and gypsum). The current proven limestone reserves might only meet the demand of the next 25 to 30 years. The government has identified other lower-probability resources, but exploration and mining will need to intensify. Similarly, the availability of gypsum from domestic sources will become a challenge in 2020 and beyond.

Dr ive ava i lab i l i t y o f sk i l led resources. Take proactive steps to increase the supply of skilled labour by sett ing up dedicated cement training institutes. This can be achieved with the adoption of ITIs through public-private partnerships with the government and by setting up private training centres.

3: Promote best global practices in use and delivery of cement

Ramp up product ive use of cement. Increasing the use of cement in underpenetrated applications can generate much higher demand. Two crucial applications are concrete roads and cement-lined canals. Three moves are essential:

Adopt tailored approach for variety of concrete roads. For rural roads, promote customized products such as cell-filled concrete pavement. For urban roads, endorse new solutions

Bui ld re lat ionships with key influencers such as architects and designers, and involve them in the early stages of product and solution design.

Build sufficient bulk-handling infrastructure. Gear up to manage the required increase in bulk-handling capabilities: Develop bulk terminals as close to grinding units as possible to optimize on logistics. Alternatively, invest in special-purpose vehicles to facilitate bulk delivery where terminals are not close to grinding units.

4: Reduce energy requirements

R e d u c e s p e c i f i c e n e r g y requirements per ton of cement by 10 to 12 per cent. Technological improvements to bring in efficiencies. Pursue technological improvements, aiming for a 5 to 8 per cent gain in energy efficiency over the next decade. Changes will include using the latest high-efficiency clinker coolers, improving the efficiency of the grinding stage, using multichannel burners, and improving process fans and auxiliary equipment.

Another move that will help is phasing out inefficient equipment. Retrofit with the latest technology in

older plants wherever viable. A proactive

to realize PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) targets.

Work with other stakeholders. Develop the requisite infrastructure in cooperation with waste-producing industries and non-governmental organizations. Improve the viability of WHR technology through innovation to increase the adoption rate. Use more renewable sources to generate power, aiming for up to 10 per cent of electrical power coming from renewable sources.

6: Debottleneck supply of domestic coal while maximizing use of petcoke

Use domestic coal and petcoke to fulfill at least 50 per cent of energy needs. Push the agenda with the government to gain access to captive coal mines while forging strategic tie-ups for a fair share of the supply.

The supply of domestic petcoke is expected to increase to more than 22 mtpa by 2025. Industry will need to maximize its use through effective tie-ups with suppliers.

7: Ensure strong focus on employee welfare and retention

The industry has been facing stiff competition from other sectors for hiring and keeping talent.

Retain employees and develop leaders using an all-encompassing approach. Design a robust and comprehensive onboarding process

with a good mix of practical training and classroom sessions to give employees the right skills early in their career.

Align rewards and compensation to be competitive with other manufacturing industries and service sectors. Offer faster career progression and a rich on-the-job learning experience.

Government imperatives In addition to playing a direct role

in generating demand for cement by stimulating infrastructure creation, the government also has a supporting role to play by helping the industry achieve the objectives.

Rationalize tax structure for cement and other input materials. Doing so will help make the industry more cost-competitive. Two moves are essential: Streamline excise duty and VAT on the input materials by giving the cement industry ‘infrastructure’ status. Reduce the import duties on coal and gypsum, given shortages.

Streamline land acquisition process for Greenfield expansion. Reduce minimum no-objection requirements to ensure smooth approval.

R e v i s i t s p e c i f i c a t i o n s f o r infrastructure projects. Evaluate the use of cement or concrete in roads and canals from a lifecycle cost perspective, and encourage adoption.

Allow infrastructure projects to use blended cement. Agencies such as the NHAI, PWDs, the Ministry of Water Resources, and railways should allow blended cement for large infrastructure projects.

(Concluded)

(Courtesy: A T Kearney-CII)

Vision Objective

Support the building of modern India

*Ensure viability of new capacity addition*Debottleneck input resources to enable growth*Promote global best practices in use and delivery of cement

Secure a cost-effective supply of future energy needs while becoming a world leader in sustainability

*Reduce energy requirements*Increase adoption of cleaner sources of energy*Debottleneck supply of domestic coal while maximizing use of petcoke

Become one of the most admired industries among the core sector

*Ensure strong focus on employee welfare and retention

Goals of Vision 2025

customized for specific customer applications and requirements. Invest in R&D to support the development of such performance-focused cement.

Promote adoption of 56-day concrete strength as a design parameter instead of 28 days for applications where 28-day strength is not relevant. This would help increase the adoption of blended cement, as 56-day strength blended cement is on a par with OPC.

Ensure bet ter co l laborat ion between cement companies and end users to enable optimal usage of cement, with the right grade of cement used for each application. For example, low-strength cement would suffice for plastering.

Strive for blended cement to be included in project specifications. During the early stages, work closely with influencers such as the NHAI for highway projects, PWDs for urban roads and flyover projects, the Ministry of Water Resources for irrigation canals, and railways for all rail projects to ensure that blended cement is included in the project specifications.

2: Debottleneck input resources to enable growth

Proactively address logistical bottlenecks. Invest in supporting

such as white topping (laying a concrete layer on top of existing asphalt and bituminous roads) as a low upfront investment that increases the life of the road and reduces maintenance costs. For state and national highways, increase awareness among stakeholders about the benefits of concrete roads.

Pursue bui lding of concrete irrigation canals. As is true for roads, using cement for canals has many benefits. Maintenance costs are much lower than for conventional canals, the lifespan is longer, and the amount of water conserved is significantly higher.

Pursue this agenda, and roll out campaigns to increase the awareness of the benefits of using cement in canal linings. Persuade the relevant authori t ies to comprehensively evaluate the benefits of cement-lined canals over the entire lifecycle.

Introduce and offer new value-added or appl icat ion-or iented products. Increase the indus¬try’s ability to serve institutional cement buyers and retail clients. A key differentiator for cement companies will be offering customized and value-added products: Provide technical solutions and customized products.

model such as the Chinese model of replacing old machinery with new should be followed to have the most environmental friendly and efficient manufacturing plants.

Reduce clinker factor by 7 to 8 per cent. Reduce the use of clinker per ton of cement from its current value of 0.73 to 0.67 by adopting the following measures:

Increase blending of fly ash in PPC from the current average of 27 per cent. Increase blending of slag in PSC from the current average of 40 per cent. Use low-grade limestone (PLC). Use alternative blending materials such as copper slag, lead-zinc slag, and other materials generated from non-ferrous industries.

5: Increase adoption of cleaner sources of energy

Reduce energy use by 12 to 15 per cent. Reduce energy use by using cleaner sources. Prepare for greater use of alternative fuels and raw materials, and aim for 12 per cent of thermal energy to come from alternative fuels.

A do p t c l ea ne r p ro ces s ing techniques. Continue to improve on reducing both thermal and fuel NOx emissions from cement kilns. Minimize the oil-equivalent consumption of the overall cement manufacturing process

July 07-13, 2014 9

Metso to supply grinding media in N Africa

New sales office for Ruukki in the ME

Grove rough-terrain cranes on Euro 1.4 b Algerian rail project

A team of 18 Grove rough-terrain cranes is building a 130 km rail line in Algeria, which includes 31 bridges and three tunnels. The cranes will work every day for five years in tough desert conditions, where temperatures can reach up to 40oC and the rainy season lasts half the year. Total value for the project is an estimated €1.4 billion.

Italian rental giant O.MEC srl supplied all of the Grove cranes to the project’s main contractor, Condotte d’Acqua S.p.A, a leading Italian construction company.

The Grove rough-terrain cranes are so integral to the project that O.MEC is also providing comprehensive training to all 120 crane operators involved in the project, and has established a repair workshop and spare parts warehouse on the job site to keep the 26-strong Grove fleet operating at their peak throughout the challenging project.

O.MEC worked closely with Grove’s Italian dealer FIMI and Manitowoc Crane Care to ensure it delivers a comprehensive package of cranes and support to the prestigious project, as Gianfranco Bronzini, founder and owner of O.MEC, explains.

“Such a huge pro ject in a challenging environment needs special attention and the right equipment,” he says. “We have used Grove cranes

eQuIPmeNt

RSB bags Outstanding Performance Award from Caterpillar India

CMI Ve r t i ca l (Cons t ruc t ion Equipment, Mining & Infrastructure) o f t h e D h a r w a d - b a s e d R S B Transmissions (I) Ltd, has been c o n f e r r e d w i t h p r e s t i g i o u s Outstanding Performance Award for 2013-14 from Caterpillar India, a leading global OEM in construction equipment.

The award was received by M Sankaranarayanan, President, and Md Jawed, Vice President- Business Development, CMI.

At a recent function in Chennai the award was presented by Michael Hayes J, Site Purchasing Manager, Building Construction Products, Global Supply Chain, Caterpillar India and Annamalai Thiruvengadam, Sourc ing, Caterpi l lar India, in presence of top global officials from Caterpillar, who came from USA to facilitate the star vendors excelling in performance in terms of quality,

delivery(velocity) and New Product Improvements(NPI).

RSB CMI Vertical is favoured by vendors for supply of construction equipment aggregates like frames, boom, arms for excavator, front-

M Sankaranarayanan, President , and Md Jawed, VP, Business Development, CMI Vertical, RSB, receiving the award from Michael Hayes J, Site Purchasing Manager, Building Construction Products, Global Supply Chain and Annamalai Thiruvengadam, Sourcing, Caterpillar India

for many years and they have proven to be the strongest and most reliable machines around. There’s also a wide range of capacities and options available. Plus, our close relationship with Manitowoc’s Italian office and FIMI gave us the confidence and support that we could deliver what this project needs.”

All 18 Grove cranes are constantly in use at the project. They travel along the 130 km stretch of new railway to perform a huge variety of lifts. Among their main duties is positioning steel rebar that is used to build the viaducts.

The Grove rough-terrain cranes at the project include nine RT540Es, two RT550Es and seven RT880Es. The cranes are new or nearly new and offer capacities from 35 t to 75t, with boom lengths of up to 39 m.

Another key reason for selecting Grove rough-terrain cranes for the project is their straightforward operation. The Grove RT550E, in particular, features Manitowoc’s new Crane Control System, which includes a boom optimization system that automatically configures the boom length to suit specific loads and radii. The system makes life easier and more efficient for the operator, as Federico Lovera, Manitowoc’s EMEA product manager for RT and truck cranes,

explains.“Major projects with tight deadlines

in difficult locations put a lot of pressure on operators,” he says. “We want to make it easier to use our cranes and quicker to set-up, even for challenging lifts. Our robust rough-terrain range is a perfect fit for this work and we are confident they will help to complete the work on schedule.”

A team of highly experienced trainers led O.MEC’s operator training courses. The 10-day courses gave Condotte d’Acqua S.p.A.’s operators practical and theory training to ensure optimum use of the cranes. A maximum of eight people took part in each training course, to ensure all 120 operators were given one-on-one attention.

O.MEC. is one of the largest construct ion equipment renta l companies in Italy and has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry. The company’s fleet includes more than 40 Grove rough-terrain cranes and a 400 t capacity Grove GMK6400 all-terrain crane.

The new railway line in Algeria will run between Tlelat and Tlemcen in the north of the country, near the Moroccan border. The ambitious project includes building three tunnels, 31 bridges and viaducts, and renovating three railway stations.

end loader and backhoe loader for Caterpillar India.

SK Behera, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, RSB Group, said, “Customers’ CARE(Customers Are Really Everything) and delight are our

prime focus and the parameters of performance in quality, delivery and continual innovation is engraved in our system with strict compliance to ‘nil’ deviation”.

RSB Group is a forerunner in the construction equipment aggregates manufacturing industry in India and overseas as a one-stop solution. It is a preferred source of construction equipment OEMs. RSB serves as a single source to many domestic customers and managing their supply chain.

It has standalone plants in India

catering to OEMs at Jamshedpur, Dharwad and Chennai – all of which have dedicated single window for all CE solutions.

RSB is one o f the lead ing global engineering institutions with turnover in excess of Rs 1,400 crore, manufacturing a wide range of products -- propeller shafts, steering systems & components, transmission components & assembly, automotive components, etc and construction equipment aggregates, operating in several countries.

Metso has recently demonstrated its position as the leading supplier of grinding media in North Africa by securing a six-month long grinding media order to a gold mine in Egypt. The value of the order exceeds Euro 5 million.

“Our comprehensive value adding services packages will materially improve the productivity of our customers’ processes and their overall performance. The quality of our grinding media will lower both the wear rate of the grinding media as well as the operative costs for the customer,” said Rodrigo Gouveia, SVP, Wears Solutions, Services business line, Mining and Construction, Metso.

The order is booked on Mining and Construction’s Q2 2014 orders received.

Metso entered the grinding media business by acquiring the Spanish grinding media supplier Santa Ana

de Bolueta SA (Sabo) late 2013. The acquisition complemented Metso’s current comminution wear parts offering for mining customers and helps us to gain a better overall control of mill performance.

“The integration of Sabo into Metso has progressed well. We are currently expanding our grinding media factory in Bilbao to better meet the market demand,” said Felix Fornaguera, VP, Grinding media solutions, Services business line, Mining and Construction, Metso.

Grinding media is used inside grinding mills to improve the efficiency of the grinding process. Sabo’s offering covers grinding media for SAG, ball mill and VertimillTM grinding applications as well as bars for rod mills. These are available in different diameters and materials to guarantee the best performance for the mineral to be processed.

Thomas Hörnfeldt, SVP, Special Steels & International Sales at Ruukki Metals

Ruukki is expanding its sales network in the Middle East by opening, in June 2014, an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new sales office is in line with Ruukki’s aim to increase the share of special steel products and develop its distribution and partnership

network and provide a faster and more flexible service, together with technical support.

The Dubai sales office will cover the entire Middle East, as well as Pakistan. Ruukki is looking forward to strengthening its offering and service across the entire region.

“Ruukki’s new sales office will offer more comprehensive range of special steels. Ruukki is also seeking a strong position in developing sales to, for example, trailer manufacturers in the Middle East,” says Thomas Hörnfeldt, SVP, Special Steels & International Sales at Ruukki Metals.

Ruukki is also present in the Middle East through its Certified Partner Steelforce, who currently distributes Ruukki’s special steels through its network and stocks in the area.

July 07-13, 2014 10ReAL eStAte

Cities have faced global criticism for being less competitive in terms of tax structure, corporate governance and internal

security

Greatest challenge to Indian cities

Asian economies compete for greater global influence in terms of business, politics and sociocultural activity. Within economies, cities are the real growth engines. According to the Economic Intelligence Unit’s Hot Spots 2025 (2013) and AT Kearney’s 2014 Global Cities Index & Emerging Cities Outlook, leading Indian cities have done well in terms of growing business activity and enhancing human capital.

This is largely a consequence of efforts by Indian authorities toward embracing free trade and installing an effective tertiary education system. A 25 per cent annualised growth in stock of office space in top seven cities during the past 10 years is testimony to rising business activity.

The greatest challenge facing Indian cities is to increase their

This would boost growth in Banking, F inancia l Serv ices & Insurance (BFSI) sector, the third-largest occupier of commercial space in India. With a low mortgage-to-GDP ratio in India (India <10%; Hong Kong and Singapore >40%), increased financial maturity could also strengthen the housing market.

I n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r : I n the past few years, cit ies have faced global criticism for being less competitive in terms of tax structure, corporate governance and internal security. Institutional character directly influences business confidence, critical for real estate

competitiveness in Asia. The above-mentioned reports highlight some focus areas. With the newly elected BJP government at the Centre, it is time we look at these factors and their property market implications.

Physical capital: Infrastructure is deficient in India, and analysts suggest this negatively affects economic activity (GDP) by 2 percentage points annually. Planned infrastructure development could help Indian cities quickly attract international investors, and entice foreign workers.

For instance, during 2006-08, quarterly growth in demand for office space in Gurgaon and Noida (part of NCR-Delhi) was more than double its long-term average figure, as Metro rail connectivity was being established with Delhi.

Po l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y : Po l i t i c a l engagement with foreign nations facilitates the growth of trade and commerce, d i rec t l y favour ing commercial real estate. India’s strong relationship with Japan resulted in cumulative developmental loans from the latter, growing at a CAGR of 16 per cent per annum in FY2001-FY2013. The 12th Five-Year Plan

indicates that India needs overall investments worth $1 tril l ion for infrastructure development, and such foreign participation is important to accomplish this goal.

Financial maturity: While financial governance, bank penetration and equity participation is satisfactory, Ind ian c i t ies can s ign i f icant ly improve financial product awareness (insurance, mutual funds, etc.) and introduce new investment tools (inflation-hedging bonds, Reits, etc).

Suvishesh Valsan Senior Manager, Research, JLL India

sector development. Additionally, instruments such as Reits thrive on robust tax and legal structures.

Environment issues: Profit seeking and environment concerns have conflicting motives, and a balance between the two is needed for long-term sustainability of competitiveness. Recently, Indian authorities have been struggling to maintain balance, particularly affecting civil aviation, mining, manufacturing and real estate sectors. Diligent action on these policies could unlock large-scale real estate developments around upcoming projects without compromising the environment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonstrated an ability as Chief Minister of Gujarat to deliver action wi th speed ( less bureaucrat ic hurdles), c lar i ty (unambiguous policies) and innovation (practical solutions to complex problems). This gives us hope that his government will pull up the competitiveness ranking of Indian cities, eventually benefiting real estate.

The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is an acknowledged

masterpiece of community-oriented real

estate development

PCMC – a blueprint for smart growth

What is it about Pimpri Chinchwad and its township properties that are so different from what is happening in the rest of the Pune property market? To understand this, one has to first understand what goes into the formation of a planned city.

The immacu la te l y p lanned residential areas that define the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s real estate map are not an accident. They are the result of carefully planned social, economic and real estate growth.

Unlike the central areas of Pune, the real estate market in PCMC has been scrupulously shielded from the central city’s ad hoc development style. The vigilance and futuristic thinking that went into this avant-garde satellite city have added a completely new dimension to the concept of residential properties in Pune.

Organized urban planningFrom the very outset, the PCMC

planning authorities were determined

to avoid the mistakes committed in nearby Navi Mumbai, popularly known as the world’s largest planned township. After all, what began as regulated development in Navi Mumbai soon began giving way to commercialized expansion.

Instead, PCMC adopted a blueprint for smart growth – a blueprint that placed utmost importance to organized urban planning. No scope was given to a near-sighted focus on capitalization on this new area’s development potential – the onus was firmly kept on long-term considerations.

This was to be the city of the future – a place where residents could work, live and relax without any of the constraints that plague the rest of Pune. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the landscape of this previously ignored satellite city changed. Proposals for faster development were turned down. The master plan stayed in place, and the results are now brilliantly evident.

Today, the Pimpri Chinchwad Mun ic ipa l Co rpo ra t i on i s an acknowledged masterpiece of community-oriented real estate development. It has a unique blend of sustainable residential spaces, highly advanced transportation networks, a broad spectrum of employment opportunit ies, modern housing typologies such as township properties

and superior supportive infrastructure. At every stage of planning, this city’s inherent natural, cultural, sociological and economic resources have been carefully preserved.

Perfect alternativeThis incredible growth area is now

the most logical option for residential property in Pune today. For home buyers, PCMC is the prefect alternative to Pune’s unregulated urban sprawl, rapidly compounding traffic congestion and disconnected neighbourhoods.

Cons ider ing the increas ing evidence if rapid urban decay in central Pune, township properties such as those now coming up in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation are truly the New Residential Deal.

However, PCMC is not only about wider, greener spaces, cheaper property rates, improved social fabric and better infrastructure. The establishment of such new growth areas, with modern residential a l ternat ives such as township properties, is a blessing to the Pune real estate market (which has been stagnating within increasingly larger pockets). At first sight, they only seem to play a role in reducing the urban sprawl and offering home buyers a healthier and more comfortable lifestyle.

These townsh ips a re a l so instrumental in creating new urban centres, wherein new business districts create job growth in new directions. Thanks to the organized nature of their development, they create new and more rational scope for real estate market expansion while reducing pressure on property prices in the parent city.

Anil Pharande Chairman, Pharande Spaces, Pune

Industry hopes in govt to overhaul property market

The real estate, after witnessing some serious economic headwinds and sluggish demand over the past two years, real estate industry is hoping that the stable government at the Centre would rejuvenate the property market in the upcoming Budget 2014-15.

The sector is looking forward to a number of policy initiatives, including a review of the FDI rules in housing, Reit legislations and effective implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill. The long-awaited infrastructure status and single window clearance system are the other significant issues that the new government will have to look into according to industry players

Real tors apex body Credai Chairman Lalit Jain said, “The focus of the government should be on quick result factors to grow GDP and employment. Granting infrastructure status, necessary fiscal reforms, providing home loans at 7.5 per cent by tax free housing bond at 5 per cent, Reit and affordable housing scheme are quick measures suggested in this budget.

Expressing similar views Omaxe CEO Mohit Goel, said, “We expect the Budget to grant infrastructure status to real estate sector with single window clearance, tax incentive for affordable housing, removing roadblocks in land acquisition bill, faster approvals, interest subvention for affordable housing up to Rs 40 lakh, etc are some of the short-term measures that can be taken. In the government’s agenda of building 100 smart cities, the private developers can be expected to play a greater role.”

Supertech CMD RK Arora said, “Though 100 per cent FDI is permitted through automatic route in the sector, much more needs to be done like provision of single window clearance, giving the sector ‘industry’ status and facilitating Reits, etc to ensure completion of projects in time and in a transparent manner which only will bring about confidence in foreign investors, “ he said.

“We are confident that the present government wi l l take proactive measures with the view to ease inflow of foreign money in real estate which would ultimately improve liquidity in all spheres of trade and industry,” he added.

The realty sector has been facing a huge slowdown in demand over past few years due to high interest rates on home loans and lower economic growth. Gaursons MD Manoj Gaur said, “The Union Budget 2014-15 is expected to be a Budget of hope after the dull and average previous year (2013) for the real estate industry. Now a stable and full majority led NDA government is at the Centre and we expect the inflation to be controlled in 2014.” “I firmly believe easy licensing or single window clearance system should be introduced by the new regime. Though a necessary breather was given by RBI last year by keeping the rates unchanged and it is expected to remain so this year too.

“Also a new clear policy on Reits (Real Estate Investment Trust) and inflows is expected. This will help developers to arrange funds for projects. The government should raise tax exemption limit for interest payment on housing loan from the existing Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh per annum,” Gaur added.

July 07-13, 2014 11

Jumeirah Corniche in Dubai 55 pc complete

The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai sa id Jumeirah Corniche project has been 55 per cent complete, and initial phase of the project is set to open during Ramadan. Jumei rah Corn iche Development project extends 14 km from the beach parallel to six residential units starting from the backyard of the Dubai Marine Beach Resort up to Burj Al Arab Hotel.

The project aims at converting the sand beach into a more vibrant facility by providing aesthetic, recreational

Saudi Arabia to start work on $14.6 b Madinah housing

The Public Investment Fund (Pif) of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance is all set to start construction works on the SAR55 billion ($14.6 billion) housing project in Madinah. The housing project includes development of 20 administrative and 80 residential towers.

The project will be built on a 1.6 million m² area south of the Prophet’s mosque, halfway between it and

The administrative towers will house mosques for 15,000 worshippers and offices for Haj delegates, companies, travel agencies and medical delegates. Overall, the administrative towers will house around 31,000 employees, and have the capacity to accommodate around 120,000 pilgrims in more than 40,000 rooms of its 76 four and five-star hotels.

Al-Meeqat and Quba mosques. The construction work is planned to be developed in two phases and scheduled for completion within two years. The first phase will include preparing the required infrastructure for the project at a cost of SAR12 billion ($3.1billion). Phase-2 will see construction of the towers, which will be more than 30 storeys high before the up-coming Haj.

INteRNAtIONAL

Reef Worlds designs underwater tourism project Pearl of Dubai

US -based reef developer Reef Worlds has completed the design for the world’s largest sustainable underwater tourism project in Dubai called Pearl of Dubai, which will look like an ancient Lost City developed on a five acre site allocated for the project.

The project is said to become

A consortium led by Bouygues Travaux Publics has signed a contract worth 164.9 million (£131.8 million) for the second tunnel package of the Paris metro line 14 extension projects, north of the French capital.

Bouygues will work with Soletanche Bachy France, Soletanche Bachy Tunnels and CSM Bessac on the contract for client RATP. The line will run Clichy-St Ouen to Pleyel, in the neighbouring town of St Denis.

This underground infrastructure project, which is 55 per cent financed by Société du Grand Paris, will help to relieve congestion on Line 13, improving travel conditions and access to Paris for people living in northern suburbs. The consortium will be responsible for constructing a 2.2 km tunnel linking Clichy-St Ouen and Pleyel, including a tunnel that links to

the train maintenance and marshaling zone. The team will also build the Mairie de St Ouen station and other structures including reinforcing the infrastructure of line C of the RER regional express network.

Environment measures will include removing all excavated materials by river, for instance, to avoid disrupting road traffic in the towns concerned by the project. The project, which will be carried out with an 80m-long earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine, includes several major technical challenges.

The work will begin this summer and last several years, mobilizing nearly 260 employees at peak periods. The companies in the consortium have undertaken to hire site workers through social inclusion schemes, providing 20,000 hours of employment.

Bechtel to build Kosovo-Macedonia motorway

Bechtel and joint-venture partner Enka have been selected by the government of Kosovo to build a new 37-mile (60-kilometer) motorway l inking the capital , Pr ist ina, to neighboring Macedonia.

The new motorway, Route 6, will connect Kosovo with the surrounding region and will be the country’s second motorway. The country’s first, Route 7, which runs from Morina on the Albanian border to the north of Pristina, was built by the Bechtel-Enka team and delivered a year ahead of schedule in November 2013. The contract was awarded following a competitive, international tender process.

“Th is motorway w i l l c rea te a second major transport artery through Kosovo, connecting us to Macedonia and helping Kosovo become a crossroads for traffic from

ports in Greece and Albania,” said Fehmi Mujota, Kosovo’s minister of infrastructure. “Improving our transport links is crucial to developing new and expanded businesses and will spur long-term economic growth in Kosovo.”

“Collaboration with the government and people of Kosovo was crucial to helping us deliver their first motorway a year ahead of schedule,” said Peter Dawson, President of Bechtel’s global civil infrastructure business.

“We feel privileged to have this opportunity to work together again and to help further build Kosovo’s transport network and expand its economy,” added Dawson.

Construction of the new motorway will start immediately and is expected to take four years. The Bechtel-Enka team trained more than 10,000 Kosovars on the Route 7 motorway

project and will continue to place a high priority on hiring Kosovars and local suppliers to successfully deliver the Route 6 project.

The Bechtel-Enka team earned international honours for its work on Kosovo’s Route 7 motorway. The team won an ENR magazine Global Best Projects Award as well as the Program Management Award in the International Road Federation’s Global Road Achievement Awards.

T h e t w o c o m p a n i e s h a v e successfully delivered a number of major infrastructure projects in the region, including motorways in Albania, Croatia, and Turkey. They have completed more than 17,000 miles (more than 28,000 kilometers) of highways and roads, 100 tunnels totaling some 220 miles (about 350 kilometers) in length, and 25 major bridge projects.

Bouygues team lands Paris metro tunnel

elements as well as public services for the visiting tourists and residents heading to Dubai beaches.

It involves construction of 5 metre-wide walk, 4 metre-wide jogging track, rest areas including retail kiosks and shaded benches overlooking the beach in addition to health and public realms. The project wi l l have a dist inct ive landscaping theme featuring well designed and positioned flora, and decorative lighting characterized by stylish and creative design.

international dive/snorkel tourism site and will allow the waterfront resort development partners to tap about $3 billion dive and snorkel market. Reef Worlds development director Dave Taylor said the UAE has a unique tourism problem that the project addresses.

“When one considers Dubai

and the region, scuba diving and underwater exploration is not on the Top Ten list, and yet it is almost everywhere else in the world,” Taylor added. The Reef Worlds brand is all about sustainability and the creation of new habitat while at the same time adding instant tourism revenue and excitement to waterfront resorts.

Yemen to construct $3.5 intl highway Yemen plans to begin construction of $3.5 billion international highway,

expected to be its biggest ever infrastructure project, which will connect the southern port city of Aden to Saudi Arabia.

The 441-mile (710-km) highway is expected to offer a huge boost to the country’s economy, which is witnessing a continuous decline due to widespread militancy. Passing through several conflict areas, two sections of the road will be built by Indian engineering firm Punj Lloyd and a Chinese company. The World Bank is contributing $134m for the project, which will begin construction in the next three months, according Arab News.

Jacobs Engg wins Heathrow Airport contractJacobs Engineering Group has been selected by the Heathrow Airport

Ltd (Hal) of UK to act as programme manager for its five-year investment plan. As part of the contract, the company will be Programme Designer, Airport Resilience for airport’s Airport Resilience programme which is one of four strategic programmes which together will deliver a minimum of £2billion ($3.4 billion) of investment.

The Airport Resilience programme represents one of the largest private-sector investments in UK infrastructure. Work under the project includes development of runways, taxiways, pavements and related terminal airside assets.

According to the company officials, the Airport Resilience programme is part of Heathrow’s business plan for 2014-2019. As per terms of the contract, Jacobs is managing the scope of capital works planned across the entire Heathrow campus.

July 07-13, 2014 12

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CII-JLL release report on changing trends in real estate

Editor : Bina VermaEditorial Team: Dilip Phansalkar, Paresh Parmar, Remona Divekar Designer: Rajen Mistry

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responsibility for statements and opinions expressed by the authors.

The Confederat ion of Indian Industry (CII) and international property consultancy JLL India released the research report ‘Rowing the New Wave: Game-Changing Rules for Indian Real Estate’ at the CII -JLL Real Estate Conclave 2014 held in Mumbai on June 27, 2014.

Anticipating the changing trends at this juncture of political change in India, CII and JLL’s report provides fresh insights on the real estate

Game Changers: Real Estate po l ic ies such as Rea l Es ta te (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013 and Goods & Services Tax.

I n t roduc t ion o f Re i t s : The opportunity potential for the real estate industry in a mature, adequately funded and more t ransparent market.

The IT/ITES Sector: FY 2013–2014 to be relatively more positive.

Office Supply: About 34.3 million sq ft of office space will be supplied in 2014.

Office Absorption: Expected to be about 27.8 million sq ft in 2014 -- a 4 per cent increase over last year.

Retail Real Estate: 6 million sq ft of mall space to be supplied in India in 2014.

Residential Real Estate: Residential absorption rate to pick up to 15 per cent in 2014, though the sector continues to struggle with piling

eVeNtSJuly 11-13, 2014

India International Build Expo ChennaiChennai Trade Centre, Chennai,This event helps the professionals and experts of the industry to come together under the same roof and experience an ideal platform to network and interact with each other. Contact: Prompt Trade fairs (India) Pvt Ltd, 621, 3rd Floor, SIRE Mansion Thousand Lights, Chennai

August 9, 2014ManexeITC Kakatiya, HyderabadManexe is a 1-day event being held on August 9, 2014 at the ITC Kakatiya in Hyderabad. This event showcases various products and services related to the manufacturing industry and more, etc in the building construction industry. Contact: The Confederation of Indian Industry, 203-204, Sears Tower, Gulbai Tekra, Near Panchwati, Ahmedabad

August 15-17, 2014BACE Expo (Building Architectural Construction & Engineering Symposium & Trade Show)Milan Mela Ground, Kolkata BACE Expo will be held for three consecutive days at Milan Mela Complex, Kolkata. The key industry players and market leaders will discuss about modern tools and technology associated with the building and construction sector. Participants will discuss about growth of the real estate sector and build strategic business alliances with manufacturers and dealers. The prospects of some of the major construction projects in Kolkata will be highlighted. Some of the products that will be displayed include ceramic and stones, elevators, escalators, bath and sanitation. Contact: Ask Trade & Exhibitions Pvt Ltd, Flat 307, Alsa Towns Ville,170/38 Arcot Road, Valasaravakkam, Chennai

August 15-18, 2014Construction Architecture & Interior ChennaiChennai Trade Centre, ChennaiThe show is a 4-day event being held from August 15 to 18, 2014 in Chennai. This event showcases various products and services as well as equipment related to construction, architectural firms and interior design, latest designs and technologies and more in Building Construction, Architecture & Interior Designing. Contact: I ads and events Pte Ltd, 61, 1st Floor, Gold Towers, 50 Residency Road, Bengaluru.

September 11-13, 2014The Big 5 Construct IndiaBombay Convention Centre, MumbaiIt will provide the ideal platform for influential architects, contractors, consultants and engineers to share ideas about innovative construction tools and services. Contact: DMG: Events. PO Box No 33817 Dubai, UAE

October 4, 201419th One Full Day WorkshopThe Institution of Engineers (India), Mahalaxmi, Mumbai Workshop on Jirnoddhara of RCC buildings which contains Structural Audit, Upgrading (House - Keeping, Regular Maintenance, Repairs, Rehabilitation); Fixing Leakage and Waterproofing of existing RCC buildings and a total new concept to construct RCC durable buildings without leakage with practicals on acrylic polymer-based flexible membrane waterproofing system. Contact: Jayakumar Jivraj Shah, Single Faculty Course Conductor, 203, Wing-B, Lakshmi Apartments, Corporation Bank Building, Behind Anand Nagar, Dahisar (East), Mumbai 400068. Cell: 919819242649 Phone: 28483541/9819242649 jjshah123123@rediffmail.com The Institution of Engineers (India), Mahalaxmi, Mumbai Phones: 022-23543650/23542943 Mobile: 09820392726

December 4-6, 2014Ceramics AsiaGujarat University Exhibition Hall, Ahmedabad This event will be organized to enhance that potential by bringing industry professionals from different corners of the world under one roof. Ceramics Asia is going to be organized for three days at the Gujarat University Exhibition Center in Ahmedabad Contact: Unifair Exhibition Service Co. Ltd, Room 802-804, Daxin Building, 538 Dezheng North Road Guangzhou, China

December 15-18, 2014bC India ShowIndia Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida The International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines and Construction Vehicles-provides the international construction industry with a professional platform for the construction industry. Contact: B C Expo India Pvt Ltd, Lalani Aura, 5th Floor, 34th Road, Khar (West), Mumbai

place at a time of visibly improved investor sentiments in the real estate market; even global investors are now once again enthusiastically eyeing the Indian market for the immense opportunities it offers.

“With the very real possibility of a huge increase in foreign investment inflows, it is certainly time for the real estate industry to get out maintenance mode and once again explore the field of opportunistic growth. This report provides a graphic view of the sector’s current and future opportunities, and the issues that need to be addressed to provide the needed impetus.”

are being asked by all segments of Indian industry. Real estate is no exception, and there are distinct areas of concern for this sector.

“These include whether or not FDI will be allowed to any extent in multi-brand retail, and factors relating to the overall FDI policy, such as the term over which foreign funds would have to stay invested in the country before exiting. Whatever changes await, we must be ready for them and plan accordingly. As always, the CII Real Estate Conclave presented us with a tailor-made platform to do this, and to chart the forward course.”

(L to R): Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India; Sachin Ahir, Minister of State for Environment, Housing, Slum Improvement & Urban Land Ceiling, Govt of Maharashtra; R Mukundan, MD, Tata Chemicals Ltd, and Kaushlendra Sinha, Regional Director CII (Western Region), releasing CII-JLL report.

scenario in India. The CII Real Estate Conclave, held in partnership with JLL India, is the biggest and most power-packed event of the industry. This year’s Conclave, themed ‘Voice of Change - 2014 : Building Growth Consensus for Real Estate in India’, once again provided a platform to the foremost stakeholders of the Indian real estate industry to discuss, debate and share their vision for the sector’s collective and progressive growth.

Commenting on some of the foremost concerns of the industry, Puri said, “With regards to the upcoming budget and forthcoming policy decisions, there are fairly large issues on which questions

inventory and slow absorption rate in most cities.

Anuj Puri, Chairman, CII Real Estate Conclave 2014 & Chairman & Country Head, JLL India said, “Fittingly, this year’s CII Real Estate Conclave took